


we burn daylight

by Lil_Redhead



Series: Shirbert Oneshot + Drabble Collection [10]
Category: Anne of Green Gables - L. M. Montgomery, Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: F/M, Reverse Fake Dating, aged up shirbert, in which anne and gilbert learn the joys of courting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-10
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-14 05:17:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20595329
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lil_Redhead/pseuds/Lil_Redhead
Summary: The change of seasons brings new love to Anne's life. She's content to court Gilbert without anyone else knowing about it so that for once, she can do things on her own terms. Gilbert, just as fed up with Avonlea gossips, is happy to agree.





	we burn daylight

**Author's Note:**

> For an anonymous friend on tumblr who requested fake dating!

It was during seasons of change that Anne was grateful for moments of familiarity. The sound of Marilla’s feet padding along the kitchen floor always brought with it the lingering scent of something fresh to eat. The sunflowers grew so tall out in the garden that they looked like a group of laughing women bathing in the afternoon light. 

The changing of the seasons was dandelion wine - bitter and sweet on the tongue, soothing to the soul when time had passed. Anne supposed she was the only one who knew she was drinking it.

Well, and one other person, who was drinking it along with her.

“Gilbert, you are by far the most punctual young man I’ve ever met,” Marilla’s voice rang from the doorway. “You certainly inherited your father’s good manners.”

Anne, who’d been burying her face into a cluster of Mayflowers on her windowsill, perked her ears at the sound of Gilbert’s name. Anyone directly beneath the room would have heard Anne scurry across the room as nearing the threshold for a race, but she paused the in the doorway collecting herself. She wasn’t sixteen anymore. She couldn’t sprint to the pace of her heart as she used to in the days of her girlish youth. Thus she descended the stairs with all the coolness that an eighteen-year-old should have, hoping her face wouldn’t give her away.

“- and I assure you, Miss Cuthbert, that if you ever need to borrow them again, all you need do is say the word.” Gilbert’s hazel eyes fixed to Anne as she appeared behind Marilla, filling with subtle delight. “Hello Anne.”

“Hello Gil,” replied Anne, matching his polite, cordial tone. He was a much better actor than she was, able to tear his gaze away and resume his conversation as if it hadn’t been interrupted at all. 

“As I said, Miss Cuthbert, that’s what neighbors are for,” he continued. Anne, on the other hand, felt as if her secret was one the edges of her lips, ready to burst out without a moment’s notice. 

“At least let me send Anne to help you carry all those milk jugs home,” Marilla supplied. 

“I can manage,” Gilbert said.

“Oh, I don’t mind!” Anne broke in, perhaps a touch too eagerly. Gilbert’s brow shot up, causing the redhead to grab hold onto herself. “I’m in the mood for a walk up the road, anyhow.”

“Come to think of it, I have been cooped up in the house all day packing for Redmond. Perhaps an afternoon ramble would do me good,” he said.

They walked in near silence, neither knowing quite what to say. Gilbert had two galvanized metal milk cans on his shoulders, Anne with one tucked underneath her arm. She could feel her pulse bumping along the insides of her wrist and underneath her breast, but if Gilbert was thus preoccupied, he didn’t seem it.

Marilla was gone now. Why was he still… 

“Would you like to take the path through the woods and see if any of the leaves have begun to turn yet?” he asked into the quiet air. 

“That sounds nice,” Anne replied, wondering if her precious, beloved secret had only been a dream. 

Then, in a tone that sounded as if he were commenting on the weather, he said, “I think we’re far enough away that she can’t see us from the window.” 

Anne’s mind went fuzzy. 

“Huh?” 

Without response, Gilbert dropped his milk cans in a patch of roadside weeds and sprinted off in the direction off a small clearing at the foot of the valley. He tossed a saucy look over his shoulder, sending chills down to Anne’s toes.

“Gilbert Blythe! What has gotten into you?” she laughed, chucking her own milk can near his. Wading after him through the waist high grass as if they were ocean waves, she followed him with delighted laughter. Yesterday hadn’t been a dream, after all. 

Gilbert paused when they’d sunk out of view of the road, caught Anne’s hand, and pulled her under the shade of a billowing willow tree. He was before her in moments, closing in closer and closer to her until her back was pressed against the textured bark. Biting her lip in delight, Anne took in all the sweet smells of him. The leaking light through the branches lit up his own tiny freckles, trickled across the apples of his cheeks like translucent grains of sand. He lowered his face closer and closer, until all she could see where his lovesick hazel eyes asking silent permission. She nodded, nudging her nose with his to welcome him in. 

He accepted the opportunity eagerly, taking hold of her waist and kissing her with such affection that Anne felt like gold was melting through her. Her hands searched for purchase, clinging to the first thing they could find - his overalls. This only pulled him closer, and he caught himself with a hand on the bark next to her head.

“Pretending is going to be harder than I thought,” Gilbert said, pressing kisses to her cheeks between words. Anne’s stormy eyes turned crystal blue and fell shut at how _loved _she felt. 

It was all so _new. _Just yesterday they’d exchanged tender confessions, cleared away years old misunderstandings, and shared their first kiss. But they’d also decided to keep everything a complete secret…For now, at least. _I want to keep falling in love with you on our own terms, _Anne had said. _Without judgement from those Avonlea ladies or our friends, just you and me for as long as we want. Then when the time is right, we’ll court publically and Avonlea can have their say. _That sounded like a marvelous idea to Gilbert, who agreed instantly. 

Pretending like there was nothing between them might’ve been hard, but it opened the door for moments of privacy like this. 

Gilbert captured her lips a few more times before pulling back and pressing his forehead to hers. 

“I thought for sure I was going to jump right into your arms the second I saw you,” Anne confessed. 

“Me too, darling, me too!” Gilbert said, running his fingers over the top of her hair. Anne shivered at how wonderful his touch felt, but pushed him back with a gentle hand so that he could look her square in the face. 

“You were such a good actor that I thought everything was just a lingering dream I’d had in the night.” 

“Thankfully, it was not,” Gilbert said tenderly, thumbs grazing over the dimples of her cheeks. “I’m still trying to navigate this new delight.” 

“What do you mean?” 

Gilbert’s smile tilted down toward the ground, but he met her gaze through his timid, long lashes. 

“Only that I’ve been pining after you for so long that I don’t know what to do with myself now that we’re actually _together. _I’m afraid I’ll frighten you with how much I want to kiss you.” 

Anne, however, was never frightened. She trusted Gilbert beyond even his understanding, and loved him just as much. To prove it, she mustered up the courage to wrap her arms around his shoulders. Gilbert swayed toward her, expression drunk off of his own tender affection. She rose herself to the balls of her feet and let her lips fall onto his. 

This kiss was different than other ones she’d seen it person. It moved with intensity, it made tangible her own desire, and nearly knocked the poor man off his feet. For once, Anne felt like every woman wanted - desired, powerful, cared for. 

“I’m not afraid,” she vowed against his lips. 

When she broke away, Gilbert leaned his face to the underside of her jaw so tentatively, it felt like butterfly wings were brushing against her. 

“Is this okay?” he whispered against her skin. His breath came hot against a sensitive spot on her neck and Anne caught a whimper in her throat.

“Yes,” she breathed. Before his lips landing on her skin, he wove his arms all the way around her waist until she was pressed firmly against him. When he kissed her throat, she tilted her chin up and let out a blissful laugh. “Very okay.” 

Gilbert had barely kissed a woman, let alone in his way. He’d only walked in on Bash kissing Mary like that once several years ago after they first got married, but he found the actual act of his different than he expected. Anne’s skin beneath his lips was soft than silk and smelled like soap. The more she reacted - hands weaving into his hair, sweet sighs leaving her lips - the more he relaxed and let his instincts lead him. 

It felt like he worshipped her for days, finding new spots around her that begged to be kissed. And when it was over, Anne turned him so his back was against the tree and she could return the favor. Return it she did, tasting the hollow of his throat and biting ever so gently into a spot that made him keen to her. After this particular display of affection, she stepped back.

“You probably think me very unladylike,” she murmured. 

Gilbert, who had his eyes closed and head pressed against the tree, looked down at her and shook his head. 

“Not at all, my love,” he exhaled with a forced laugh, trying to regain his balance. “That was devastating and wonderful and I look forward to similar occurrences in the very near future.” 

“But we should probably get those cans back to your house before Marilla wonders where I’ve gone off to.” 

Gilbert groaned and dropped his head onto her shoulder. He took her into his arms, eliciting a tempted sigh from the redhead pressed to his chest.

“Let’s stay like this for a few more minutes,” he suggested.

“Gil,” Anne protested.

“Hours then?” 

“_Gil!”_

“Fine,” he lamented, pulling back and taking her hand. “Tomorrow let’s go to the beach before the water gets too cold.”

“I like the sound of that.” 

When they came back to the road and collected the milk cans, they were just in time for the Andrew’s family to drive by. On the surface, they were just friends again, two kindred spirits ambling through the sunset countryside. Gilbert tipped his hat to Mr. Andrews, all traces of his lovesickness gone. But Anne knew when he reached over and gave her hand a squeeze that it hadn’t gone away completely and it never would.

**Author's Note:**

> Lemme know if this made your heart tug even a little! If you wanna come chat on tumblr, feel free!! ~ @royalcordelia


End file.
